I'm hoping to get some suggestions for possible college degree/career paths.
I'm 32 years old, living in Columbus, Ohio, USA. I would like to go to college with the ultimate goal of a career dedicated to the prevention of extreme suffering in any and all sentient beings. Something similar to the mission statement of The Organisation for the Prevention of Intense Suffering:
... working towards a more compassionate global society where no one - human or non-human - experiences terrible pain and suffering that can be prevented or alleviated. We promote solutions to specific causes of suffering and change in societal decision-making to make the prevention of suffering the highest priority.
Whether I'd do something with policy, activism, research, or something else, I'm not sure. I just don't want a job where I'm sitting at a computer all day, for my mental and physical health.
I'd like a degree that would allow me to initially get a high-paying job, possibly unrelated to altruism, so that I can build up my personal savings. Then at some point, I'd pivot into a non-profit related to the above goals, with the help of my degree and maybe work experience up to that point.
Of course, the career shouldn't become obsolete due to AI soon.
Possibly relevant details about me:
I like logical, black and white thinking. For example coding or trying to diagnose a mechanical issue with an appliance. Creative work, such as writing essays, is kind of scary and hard for me.
Could I please get your feedback/suggestions for a degree/career path that would be suitable for me? Thanks!
I'd suggest that you consider computer science and business (with a focus on project management if at all possible). A big focus for you will just be building skills and establishing a good track record of doing impressive things.
Computer science meshes well with your logical, black-and-white thinking. It also tends to allow a wide range of careers/professions (site reliability engineering, database management, front-end design, and others) depending on where you choose to focus. It also provides a lot of flexibility in terms of industry, since organizations of all types need people to design and run various systems related to information.
Business (and especially project management) is (very simplified) "getting things done." This is a skillset that is very useful in a wide range of organizations, regardless of whether they are for-profit or non-profit. If you can see yourself being a good communicator who tends to keep things organized, try it out.
Regardless of the field/area you choose, I recommend trying it out a little before committing to a full degree program. You could take one or two courses at your local university or community college, try a few MOOCs in the subject, do some Sophia.org courses to dip your toe in the subject.
I think that it might be hard to find good[1] jobs that don't involve "sitting at a computer all day." Most good jobs involve quite a bit of time using a computer.
Obvious caveats:
I'm using "good" in a pretty fuzzy way, but think of it vaguely like some combination of paying enough money, not having to much risk of physical damage to your body, having not too much stress, and having decently good motivation. Colleagues contribute to this, how much control you have over the work you do contribute to this, company culture contributes, etc.
I like these suggestions. It fits with the suggestions of the other commenter.
Good idea. I was hoping to start at Uni in the fall, which doesn't giv... (read more)